


Transcendence

by inappropriatestarstable



Category: Star Stable
Genre: I'm so proud of my girl, SPOILERS for the Anne Rescue quests, but I'm just in the mood to write dark emotional shit, but for this fandom yeah maybe it needs a warning, depictions of violence aren't THAT descriptive, will probably be a bit depressing honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-07 05:13:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17954234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inappropriatestarstable/pseuds/inappropriatestarstable
Summary: The immediate aftermath of Anne's rescue mission. Ariana and Lion belong to me, all other characters and most of the dialogue belong to Star Stable.





	Transcendence

**Author's Note:**

> As much as I love the collective canon of the fandom, in which all our OCs play a part, this takes place in my own separate canon, where Ariana is the reluctant fifth Soulrider.

Everything had been going so well. The keystone had worked, the portal had opened, Anne had been freed from her prison with a surprisingly mighty kick from Concorde’s tiny hooves, and though Mr. Anwir had nearly killed Alex and Ariana, even he was defeated for now.

Ariana could scarcely believe she was staring at Anne von Blyssen in the flesh, after all this time.

“I look forward to getting to know you better, Ariana,” Anne had said, a small smile on her face, and Ariana had clasped the other girl’s proffered hand, at a loss for words.

But then the ground had started to shake.

“I hate to rush things,” Linda called. She’d helpfully grabbed Lion’s reins as he jumped with fear. “But the portal home is acting a little funny!”

“Darko!” Alex yelled. “He’s trying to trap all of us in Pandoria!”

Lisa pressed her boot to Starshine’s side, spinning him around. “We have to go, now!”

“I’ll ride with you, if that’s all right,” Anne said to Ariana. Concorde, small and strange and much too young, had darted to Meteor’s side for safety.

“Yeah, fine,” Ariana grabbed Lion’s reins from Linda and swung herself into the saddle before reaching a hand down for Anne. “Come on!”

Lion hardly needed any encouragement to run, and they took off after the others, who were already far ahead. Anne, unsurprisingly, was clearly weak from her ordeal, and Ariana was forced to give Lion his head and steer with one hand, her other hand holding tight to the arms Anne wrapped around her waist.

They burst through the portal into the space between dimensions, which looked nothing like it had before. The sky was a deadly shade of orange reminiscent of a raging wildfire, and the roar and crack of crumbling stone sounded as though the very world was falling to pieces.

“The bridge is collapsing!” Anne gasped, and Ariana’s heart leaped into her throat.

“Oh god, I can’t see the others,” Ariana said, searching in vain through the dust and the haze of orange light.

“They’re Soul Riders—they’ve escaped worse than this before,” Anne shouted into Ariana's ear. “You have to keep moving! _Ride!”_

Ariana kicked Lion into a gallop and he leaped forward. Ariana tangled one hand in his mane and sank her feet deep into the stirrups, holding onto Anne’s arm so tightly her fingers hurt as Lion galloped desperately down the stretch, breathing hard with every stride. They were almost there—the portal was just ahead—

It was a miracle that they didn’t go tumbling hooves over head down the stairs; Ariana had had just enough time to pull strongly on Lion’s reins enough to make him check his speed as they hit the top of the staircase, and they clattered down to the stone ground of Guardian’s Dale without running anyone over.

Anne slid to the ground; Concorde was at her side in an instant. Derek was speaking to Anne, but Ariana couldn’t be bothered to listen as she dismounted on shaking legs, leaning against Lion’s shoulder. Both of them were breathing hard, but she could hear Linda’s voice clearly.

“Where are Alex and Tin-Can?”

“They were right behind me!” said Lisa, turning to the portal just as Tin-Can came clattering down the stairs, saddle empty, reins flapping, and slid to a halt with an urgent neigh.

“She went after Darko! I tried to stop her, but—”

“She’s not strong enough to take on Darko alone!” Linda gasped. “We have to help her!”

“We’re losing the portal!” Evergray was busy with the keystone, trying in vain to hold its energy steady. “She’ll be trapped in the chaos space forever!”

Ariana was ripped from her feeling of frozen foreboding as Elizabeth’s fingers clamped tightly around her wrists and pulled her in close.

“Ariana.” The woman’s eyes were wide and urgent. “Alex— The Sisterhood must be made whole! We cannot fail now!”

“Okay, okay—” Ariana tried to pull herself free, but Elizabeth’s hands were like vises. “I’ll go back and—”

“No!” Elizabeth shouted. “I will not lose another girl! _Especially_ not her!”

She tore herself free; almost before anyone could blink, she was running up the stairs to the portal, seeming half out of her mind with panic.

“I’m coming, Alex!”

“Fucking—” Ariana ran after her. “Elizabeth, get back here!”

“Ariana! Wait!” Lisa yelled from behind her, but Ariana was gone, the swirling mists of the portal enveloping her.

Lion whinnied shrilly, the sound echoing around Guardian’s Dale.

“Aideen help us,” breathed Lisa.

—

Ariana burst through the portal, coughing and choking on air that seemed laced with ashes and embers. Elizabeth was just ahead of her, her long hair blowing in the hot wind that raged around them. And there, just beyond a gaping stone chasm, locked in a deadly duel, were Alex and Darko.

“We took down Mr. Sands,” Alex was snarling, the blue light of her Soulstrike illuminating her face. “You think we can’t handle a wannabe wizard like you?”

“Mr. Sands is a relic.” Red ribbons of light poured from Darko’s staff like poison, snaking toward Alex but unable to breach the barrier of blue light. “ _I_ am Dark Core’s future.

“And besides, little Alex. Without your Soul Horse, you’re just a girl from the streets.” He surged foward and a blast of light slammed into Alex’s chest, knocking her back against a wall of fallen rubble with a yell of pain.

The scream tore from Ariana’s lips before she could stop it; she raced after Elizabeth to the edge of the chasm as Darko laughed cruelly.

“You are _nothing_ , Alex Cloudmill. Unhinged. Unworthy. You make it too easy…” He seemed to notice them then, as he turned to face the newcomers.

“You’re wrong, Darko.” Elizabeth’s voice carried clearly over the roaring wind. “Alex is the brightest soul I’ve ever known. And by Aideen, I swear you won’t touch a hair on her head.”

Darko’s mocking laugh rang out. “Elizabeth Sunbeam! The last vestige of a failed Sisterhood.”

 _What?_ Ariana looked at the woman who stood beside her now. _She was…_

“You really do care about this trash, don’t you?” Darko’s lips twisted in a cold smile. “Then taking her out will be that much more satisfy—”

He never finished his sentence before Elizabeth gathered herself and leaped the chasm between them. Ariana screamed again, sure Elizabeth would fall, but she was calm, her arms spread like wings, as she landed in front of Darko with a blast that knocked the dark wizard to the ground. His staff clattered out of reach.

Elizabeth calmly stepped past his unmoving form and approached Alex where she still lay against the wall. She reached out her arm; Alex reached to take it.

Trapped where she was, with an empty chasm of space between herself and the others, even through the haze, Ariana could see Darko’s eyes snap open.

And Elizabeth froze.

In an instant, her clothes, her body, her outstretched arm had all turned to crystal with a sound like shattering glass. Alex’s face froze in horror, her mouth open in a silent scream. Ariana’s breath was torn from her chest as though her lungs had turned to stone as well; she could only stare across the immeasurable gap.

“Elizabeth—” Alex gasped.

Frozen though she was, Elizabeth could still speak.

“There is so much I never got to tell you, Alex…”

“No, no, no…” Alex pleaded, trying in vain to stand.

Darko calmly stood, collected his cane, and strolled over to stand beside his frozen victim.

“I am so proud of you,” Elizabeth rasped.

_“No!”_

Elizabeth’s green eyes stared down at Alex one last time before they fell closed.

And the world exploded.

Pink light seared Ariana’s eyes as she was thrown backward. She could hear Darko’s screams over the sounds of the rubble collapsing to the ground and she knew he was falling. She hoped he never landed.

And then her body was crashing to the stone ground, driving all remaining breath from her chest, and she could only gasp, her cheek pressed against the stone, and try in vain to breathe.

It seemed like an eternity before she could struggle to her hands and knees. Her hair fell over her face and she clumsily swiped it away so she could look up.  


The orange glow had gone, but ash still fell from the dark sky. She couldn’t see anyone.

_Oh god… Am I alone?_

No Darko, no Elizabeth, no idea if Alex was alive, not even Lion…

Cold fear swept through Ariana’s veins and she lurched to her feet, stumbling to the edge and over the bridge of rubble that had fallen in place. She could just see where Alex had fallen…

She walked the last few feet as if in a daze and fell to her knees beside Alex where she slumped against the broken stone wall. The other girl’s tear-bright eyes in the darkness sent relief rushing into Ariana’s heart.

“She’s… She’s really gone.”

Ariana could only nod, unable to look Alex in the eye.

“I… I’m so sorry, Alex.”

“Why?” The word was barely audible. “It’s not like it’s your fault.”

Ariana didn't know what to say to that. She turned her head to take in their surroundings and was met with only endless stretches of stone and darkness, with nothing but cold, empty space that beckoned from where the stone ended.

The portal had closed, the others were gone. They were completely, utterly alone.

“Stay here,” Ariana said. “I’ll… I’ll get us out of here.”

She got to her feet and stumbled through the darkness, following the tiny pinpricks of light in the vain hope that it would lead to something.

The stone path stretched on forever, winding and splitting and converging.

_It’s getting so dark…_

Alex’s voice sounded in her head. A shiver twisted down Ariana’s spine, and she broke into a run down the path, desperately looking for something, _anything_ …

There.

Blue light shone from beneath a small pile of stones like a beacon in the foggy darkness. Ariana stumbled toward it; maybe it was a source of power, something she could use.

And then the sound hit her ears: very faint, and sounding as though it was coming from far, far away.

_It sounds like… No, it can’t be…_

She crouched and plunged her hands into the glow, hoping against hope that even she, as limited as she was, could access enough power to help. To her surprise, light burst from the ground in a glow that spiraled away into the darkness, lighting up the stone bridge that materialized out of nothing. And the sound was clearer now: a voice, a familiar voice.

_That’s Lisa!_

She broke into a run, chasing the light, running over the stone bridge to the next source, and then the next, and the next.

 _Why did she have to come for me?_ Alex’s broken voice sounded again in her head.

 _Because she loved you._ Ariana bit down on the tears that now threatened to fall as she dipped her hands in the next source of light. _We—we all do._

_I don’t know why._

The words sent a knife into Ariana’s heart, a pain all too familiar, but she kept running, breath huffing from her lips, her boots skidding on the rocky ground. Over the next bridge, onto the next source.

_Ariana… I’m cold, Ariana._

_Hold on, Alex._ Ariana pressed her hands against the glowing stones and felt a leap in her heart as the bridge materialized. But as soon as she crossed it, she could see Alex, still leaning against the wall as though she’d never move again.

_I’ve gone in a fucking circle._

Ariana walked forward in a hopeless daze and knelt in front of Alex. Her whole body suddenly felt cold and heavy as lead.

“And the portal home…?” Alex didn’t even lift her head.

“It’s gone,” Ariana whispered.

“No way forward, no way back. Elizabeth gave her life for nothing.”

“At least… we’re not alone. We have each other.”

Alex seemed to consider this for a moment before she said, “You’re a good friend, Ariana.”

The words twisted the knife in Ariana’s heart. _No,_ she thought, _I’m not. If I was, I’d fix this._

A sudden surge of determination clawed its way up from her chest, and she got back to her feet. There had to be more sources of power. There had to be a way out.

She ran back the way she’d come and made a turn she hadn’t made before—sure enough, there was another source, hidden in a cave of stone. She activated the source; the back wall slid away and revealed an immense cavern, with a massive stone structure resembling the spokes of a wheel. More power sources, just visible in the darkness, glowed in a circle around the edge. Maybe if she could activate them all—

_I never got to say goodbye to my mom…my brothers…Maya…_

_No more goodbyes._ Ariana sent the thought and activated the source, hoping her strength would hold. _Not today._

She made her way around the circle and came to the last source. She plunged her hands into the light and was rewarded with a tangible surge under her hands, even stronger than before. The ground rumbled again, but it didn’t feel like destruction; it felt like the moving pieces of a massive machine.

The immense stone structure in front of her suddenly began to spin like a wheel, blue light shining in a halo around the top of it, the crystals glowing. Ariana could feel the power thrumming in her chest; she stared at it, disbelieving, as she felt a tug in her mind.

_Ariana—the portal’s open!_

Hardly daring to believe it, she sprinted back through the cave, back to where she’d left Alex. Sure enough, the green glow was clearly visible through the dark. And a sound was emanating from beyond the portal, an unmistakable song.

“ _It’s gonna be all right, it’s gonna be all right_ …”

“Can you hear that?” Alex whispered as Ariana came running up to join the other girl where she stood facing the portal.

“Oh my god,” Ariana choked, relief sweeping through her. “It’s Lisa’s song.”

“They came back for us…” Alex said, staring at the portal. “But…”

Ariana grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

As they moved through the green mass, the song only became clearer: a high, clear voice accompanied by the earthy sound of guitar strings, thrumming in their chests like a heartbeat. And as the mist cleared, the descending stairway opened up before them, with a crowd of people standing at the bottom.

“ _When trouble comes knocking on your door, I’ll be there a thousand times or more_ ,” Lisa sang, and her eyes connected with theirs. She faltered a moment as her face split into a grin before she continued her song.

“ _Cause that’s what, that’s what friends are for_ …”

Alex’s hand slipped from Ariana’s as she walked down the stairs toward the group of people and horses: Lisa with her guitar, Evergray’s eye glowing through the mist, the newly reunited Anne and Concorde, all of them waiting, all of them relieved to see Alex and Ariana safe, but there was only one that finally set Ariana in motion.

She stumbled down the stairs, following Lisa’s voice, and her own heart, and flung her arms around Lion’s neck.

—

“You…you came back for us?”

Alex sounded as though she still couldn’t quite believe it.

“Of course,” said Anne from across the fire. Her gaze was firm; she already seemed stronger. “That’s what friends are for.”

“Elizabeth?” said Lisa, looking to Ariana.

Ariana shook her head. “Darko...”

“She…she didn’t make it,” Alex muttered. “She died saving me. I…it’s all my—”

“No,” Lisa interrupted firmly. “No way, you do not get to blame yourself.”

“You’re not alone, Alex.” Linda’s soft voice spoke up. “We’re in this together.”

“We’re a sisterhood,” said Anne. “The four of us ride together as one.”

Ariana’s heart sank. This was what she had feared since the plans to save Anne had been set into motion. She would be a pawn to be used for what little power she had, before she would be cast aside in favor of the stronger sister. And if there was one thing she’d tried to promise herself she _wouldn’t_ be, it was anyone’s pawn.

“Five.”

Lisa’s voice made Ariana lift her head. Lisa was smiling at her, _her_ , her brown eyes warm, and Ariana nodded, her throat tight.

“You guys…,” Alex said around a sniffle.

“To the sisterhood!” Linda said with a smile.

“With Elizabeth gone and Fripp on death’s door, I have no idea how we’re going to move forward,” Alex confessed, staring into the fire. “But we have to. But Dark Core is still out there. Jorvik needs us.

“We have to be stronger. We have to be a team again. We have to grieve, and heal. But…” Alex lifted her head and met Ariana’s eyes. “Right now, it’s time to be with friends…to celebrate life.”

Ariana had to turn her head away.

“We’re Soul Riders. Together till the end.”

And as she settled down for the second night in a row in a dirty sleeping bag before the remains of a dying campfire, her head resting on her bent arm and her half-open eyes staring at the embers, Ariana couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt like this: so fulfilled and yet still longing.

She could see Starshine’s white coat glowing through the dark, and the sleeping form of Lisa at his hooves. Tin-Can whickered softly in his sleep, not unlike Alex’s soft, huffing breaths that made Ariana wonder how long she’d stayed awake crying silently. Meteor his forelock falling over his face, stood over Linda, who had fallen asleep with her glasses on. Concorde lay with her spindly legs tucked underneath her, as close to Anne as the confines of the girl’s sleeping bag would allow. Ariana could just see the curve of Anne’s arm over the foal’s neck, as though she’d fallen asleep petting her.

And Lion lay with his back pressed against Ariana’s, his body warm even through the sleeping bag. Ordinarily she would have rolled her eyes and told him to get his fat ass away before he rolled over in his sleep and crushed her, but when they’d settled down for the night and he’d sank to the ground beside her without even an accompanying insult, she hadn’t had the heart to make him move.

She hadn’t fully realized how comforting his presence was until she’d been stuck in Pandoria without him. Maybe it was the Soul bond between rider and horse, or maybe it was just the unsettling lack of his panicked voice in her head, but her heart was a little more at ease knowing that they hadn’t been separated for long.

She’d survived. Lived to feel the wind on her face and her horse’s coat under her fingers, lived to feel the warmth of a campfire again, lived to hear Lisa sing them home.

She tilted her face to the sky, breathed in the cool, clear Jorvik air, and fixed her gaze on a star.


End file.
